Collapsible bulk handling bin

ABSTRACT

A rectangular collapsible bulk handling bin having a palletized base in which at least one pair of opposite walls are secured to the base as by easily releasable interlocking means the interlocking means at least strongly securing the said pair of walls against outward thrust, the other pair of opposite walls being secured to the base or the first pair of opposite walls as by peg and socket means the adjacent walls being interconnected at the top the combination being simply assembled or disassembled the assembled bin being strongly secure against at least outward thrust on the walls produced by weight of contents.

United States Patent Schubert et al.

[451 Dec. 12, 1972 [54] COLLAPSIBLE BULK HANDLING BIN [72] Inventors: Dudley J. Schubert, Baranduda, via Wodonga; Donald R. Howe, Morell Street, Mooroopna, both of Victoria, Australia [22] Filed: Nov. 30, 1970 [2ll Appl. No.: 93,695

Foreign Application Priority Data Nov. 27. I969 Australia ..644l8/69 Feb. 20. 1970 Australia ..378/70 [52] US. Cl. ..217/l2 R, 217/43 A [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 9/12 [58] Field of Search ..2l7/69, 65, 12, 43, 43 A, 15; 220/7 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,262,597 7/1966 Coffey,Jr. 3,079,025 2/1963 Herman 3,156,370 11/1964 Monfort 8/1965 Briand ..2l7/43 A l/l967 Rowle ..217/65 3/1969 Reiltes ..217/69 Primary Examiner--Raphael M. Schwartz Attorney-Sherman and Shalloway [57] ABSTRACT A rectangular collapsible bulk handling bin having a palletized base in which at least one pair of opposite walls are secured to the base as by easily releasable in- 3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures COLLAPSIBLE BULK HANDLING BIN This invention relates to collapsible bulk handling bins and more particularly relates to palletized bins having a predominance of timber in their construction.

The present specification will refer to a bin having specific application to the fruit and vegetable industry in which relatively large bins of strong construction are used to transport fruit from the grower to processing factories or the like. In such an application the loading is only one way and accordingly the problem arises (as it does in many other fields) as to the economic transport of empty containers to the growers. For this reason, collapsible containers are desirable and have been provided, in order that the collapsed containers could be economically back loaded, and also such containers consume very little storage space when not in use. Moreover collapsed bins are more easily handled by manual and mechanized labor. a

The collapsed bins lend themselves to easy stacking and therefore in the case of palletized bins a large number can be handled. simultaneously by a fork lift vehicle.

However it has been found that problems arise in the manufacture and construction of collapsible bins as to strength and ease of assembly and disassembly. It appears that the main disadvantage with such bins is lack of strength brought about by the fact that demountable components are inherently weaker than those utilized in conventional bin types. It is also important in collapsible bins that the demountable components should be interchangeable from bin to bin and accordingly should preferably lend themselves to simple mass production techniques having low tolerance errors.

With the above stated facts in view it is accordingly a principal objective of this invention to provide a collapsible bulk handling bin which is relatively simple to construct, assemble and disassemble, whilst the assembled components are interconnected to form a strong container.

According to the present invention there is provided a collapsible bulk handling bin including a palletized floor base and side walls adapted for mounting along the edges of said base to form said bin, fixing means mounted on one opposite pair of side edges of said base and on one opposite pair of side walls adapted to connect the bottom of the side walls to the base along said pair of side edges the other pair of opposite side walls including releasable securing means attached thereto for interengagement with means on said base and/or said one opposite pair of side walls to secure said other pair of side walls said fixing means and said releasable securing means together being arranged to connect all four walls and the base to resist outward thrust exerted by the bin contents and to allow the side walls to be collapsed onto said base.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a collapsible bulk handling bin including a rectangular palletized floor base and four side walls adapted for mounting along the edges of said base to form said bin, interlock means mounted on one opposite pair of side edges of said base and on one opposite pair of side walls said interlock means being adapted to interconnect when said pair of side walls are mounted on said base along said pair of side edges, the other pair of opposite side walls including releasable securing means attached thereto for interengagement with means on the base and/or said one opposite pair of side walls to secure said other pair of side walls said in terlock means and said releasable securing means together being arranged to connect all four walls and the base to resist outward thrust exerted by the bin contents.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a collapsible bulk handling bin including a rectangular pallet base and four side walls adapted for mounting along the edges of said base to form said bin, interlock means including a catch member mounted on one opposite pair of side edges of said base and spaced outwardly from said base and a latch member on one opposite pair of side walls at the lower outer face edge portion thereof, said catch member and said latch member being adapted to interconnect when said pair of side walls are mounted on said base along said pair of side edges, the other pair of opposite side walls including releasable securing means attached thereto for interengagement with releasable securing means on the base and/or said one opposite pair of side walls to secure said other pair of side walls to said one pair of side walls, said interlock means and said releasable securing means together being arranged to connect the four side walls and the base together to resist outward thrust exerted by the bin contents.

Preferably the bin construction is entirely made of wood as this is a cheap raw material the base being of palletized form to enable the container to be handled by a fork lift vehicle. Furthermore simple pivotal link means are positioned at the top corner of one pair of side walls to interengage with a pin positioned on the other pair of side walls.

Practical arrangements of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one arrangement of the bin in partly dismantled condition.

FIG. 2 is a detailed partial exploded view of the interlock components constructed in accordance with the invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial exploded view of another arrangement of the invention.

In these arrangements a wooden container will be referred to, however it will be understood that a metal bin could be constructed in a similar manner with aluminum alloy lending itself as a preferable metal, being light and strong in use. The collapsible bin 1 is made up of a palletized base 2 formed by boards or planks 2a nailed or rivetted onto three beams 3 and 3a extending across the boards; the beams 3 are arranged to rest on the ground whilst the beam 3a is of smaller dimension and arranged midway of the two beams 3. The side walls 4 and 6 have their planks 4a, 60 secured together by attachment to a length of angle or channel section 5 flush with the ends of the planks.

There are three separate points of connection between the side walls d, 6 and the base 2 as will now be described.

Firstly, in this arrangement a pivotal link 7 is attached to the angle or channel section 5 at each end of the side walls near the top thereof to interengage with a pin 8 fixed on the face of the other pair of side walls 4. Secondly the base 2 is provided with a central beam 3a extending between the two side walls 4 and carries a fixture at each end thereof which interengages or interconnects with a fixture on the foot of the side walls 4 as will be described in more detail later. Thirdly, as shown in FIG. 1, there is provided at each bottom corner of the said side walls 4, an eyelet 9 rigidly connected to the member and adapted to receive a peg member 10 rigidly secured to the bottom comer of each of the said pair of side walls 6.

The interconnecting fixtures on the side walls 4 and thecentral beam 3a may take many forms, and in one arrangement, best shown in FIG. 2, the interconnecting fixtures comprise a bracket 11 mounted at each end of the beam 3a extending along the center of the base having a raised flange portion 11a to which is secured a horizontal bar member 12 which engages in interlocking manner with notches 14 on a bracket 13 on the side walls 4. The two brackets 11 and 13 are arranged so .that the interengagement can be brought about simply by allowing the side walls 4 to fall into position between the. neighboring base plank 2a and the raised flange portion 11a and bar member 12, but which once they are in position the fixture rigidly and securely maintains the walls in position, and in particular effectively prevents any spreading of the walls.

Assembly of the container is simply carried out: The pair of side walls 4 are first fitted onto the base and is adapted to fit snugly between the bar member 12 and the neighboring base planks 2a. The eyelet member 9 on the side walls 4 are positioned to end substantially flush with the edge of the base member 2. The other pair of side walls 6 are then presented to the base with the peg members 10 arranged in alignment with said eyelets 9. These side walls 6 are arranged to rest upon the extreme border portion of the base 2 and the peg member 10 is sufiiciently long to fit neatly into the eyelet 9. The assembly is completed by closing of the pivotal link 7 at the top corners of the walls. The dimensions of the link 7 and its associated slot 7a are arranged to neatly engage the pin 8 on the other wall so that accidental lifting out of the walls 6 is prevented. The dimensions are arranged so that a lateral force is created between the slot 7a and the pin 8, when and if the wall tends to lift.

The two outer beams of the palletized base may be suitably recessed (not shown) to the plank thickness of the side walls so that a locked stack of containers can be achieved thus preventing shifting of a load during normal transporting movement.

In the arrangement depicted in FIG. 3 there is shown a variation on the peg and eyelet arrangement of FIG. 1. It is to be assumed that all other parts of the bin remain the same as that shown in FIG. 1 excepting for the provision of upright members 15 connected to the pair of side walls 6. The upright members 15 are provided with end dowels 15a arranged for insertion in apertures 16 in the comers of the base 2. The apertures 16 are preferably lined by sheet metal shrouds 17.

Assembly of the bin of the type shown in FIG. 3 is extremely simple in that the uprights 15 with the pair of side walls 6 affixed thereto are positioned at each corner of the base 2. The other pair of side walls 4 are then snapped into position about the interconnecting fixture as described previously whereupon closing of the pivotal link 7 over the pin 8 at the top corners of the walls completes the assembly.

It will be appreciated that the components are constructed so that in the collapsed position they form a neat flat stack on top of the base and in such a collapsed position can be easily handled by one person. Alternatively several collapsed containers stacked one on the other can be easily handled by a fork lift vehicle. It will also be appreciated that in the collapsed condition the containers take up relatively little storage or transporting space whilst the container in assembled condition is of a strong and long lasting construction.

We claim:

1. A collapsible bulk handling bin comprising a rectangular pallet base having cross members including an intermediate cross member, and planks affixed to said cross members to form a floor, said cross members projecting beyond the edge of said floor, four side walls comprising a first pair of opposite side walls and a second pair of opposite side walls mounted on the edges of said pallet floor, said first pair of opposite side walls adapted to rest on the projecting portion of said cross members and contact a floor edge, interlock means on each end of said intermediate cross member and on the lower outer edge portion of each of said first pair of opposite side walls when said first pair of opposite side walls are resting on said projecting portion of said cross members, said interlock means including a catch member having a substantially horizontally extending protuberance spaced a predetermined distance from said floor edge, and a latch member including at least one notched projection, said protuberance and said at least one notched projection being coincident with one another and adapted to releasably interconnect in a snap action to form said interlock means when said first pair of opposite side walls are mounted on said cross members, each of said first pair of opposite side walls being in abutting relationship with said floor edge, said four side walls including planks secured together at the ends by upright members, said upright members including releasable securing means attached thereto for releasable interengagement to secure said second pair of opposite side walls to said first pair of opposite side walls to form said bin, said interlock means and said releasable securing means interconnecting said first pair of opposite side walls and said pallet base and said releasable securing means interconnecting said first pair of opposite side walls to said second pair of opposite side walls to resist outward thrust exerted by bin contents and being releasable to allow disassembly of said four side walls from one another and from said pallet base.

2. The collapsible bulk handling bin of claim 1 wherein said upright members are channel section members, each channel section member on said first pair of opposite side walls including an eyelet extending from an end at the foot thereof and a depending peg from each channel section member on said second pair of opposite side walls, said four side walls in assembled position overlapping at their ends to an extent whereby said depending peg releasably interengages with said eyelet to secure said side walls to one another at the foot thereof and a pivotal slotted link and peg means near the'top of said side walls attached to said channel section members for releasable interengagement to secure said side walls to the top thereof.

3. A collapsible bulk handling bin comprising a rectangular pallet base having cross members including an intermediate cross member, and planks affixed to said cross members to said cross members to form a floor, said cross members projecting beyond the edge of saidfioor, four side walls comprising a first pair of opposite side walls and a second pair of opposite side walls mounted on the edges of said pallet floor, said first pair of opposite side walls adapted to rest on the projecting portion of said cross members and contact a floor edge, interlock means on each end of said intermediate cross member and on the lower outer edge portion of each of said first pair of opposite side walls when said first pair of opposite side walls are resting on said projecting portion of said cross members, said interlock means including a catch member having a sub stantially horizontally extending protuberance spaced a predetermined distance from said floor edge, and a latch member including at least one notched projection, said protuberance and said at least one notched projection being coincident with one another and adapted to releasably interconnect in a snap action to form said interlock means when said first pair of opposite side walls are mounted on said cross members, each of said first pair of opposite side walls being in abutting relationship with said floor edge, said four side walls including planks secured together at the ends by upright members, said upright members including a depending peg for removal engagement in a corresponding socket in the floor of said pallet base to secure in said second pair of opposite side walls to said pallet base relative to said first pair of opposite side walls and a pivotal slotted link and peg means attached near the top of said side walls for releasable interengagement to secure said side walls to one another to form said bin, said interlock means and said peg and socket means interconnecting said respective side walls to said pallet base and said pivotal slotted link and peg means releasably interconnecting said side walls to resist outward thrust exerted by bin contents and being releasable to allow disassembly of said side walls from one another and from said base. 

1. A collapsible bulk handling bin comprising a rectangular pallet base having cross members including an intermediate cross member, and planks affixed to said cross members to form a floor, said cross members projecting beyond the edge of said floor, four side walls comprising a first pair of opposite side walls and a second pair of opposite side walls mounted on the edges of said pallet floor, said first pair of opposite side walls adapted to rest on the projecting portion of said cross members and contact a floor edge, interlock means on each end of said intermediate cross member and on the lower outer edge portion of each of said first pair of opposite side walls when said first pair of opposite side walls are resting on said projecting portion of said cross members, said interlock means including a catch member having a substantially horizontally extending protuberance spaced a predetermined distance from said floor edge, and a latch member including at least one notched projection, said protuberance and said at least one notched projection being coincident with one another and adapted to releasably interconnect in a snap action to form said interlock means when said first pair of opposite side walls are mounted on said cross members, each of said first pair of opposite side walls being in abutting relationship with said floor edge, said four side walls including planks secured together at the ends by upright members, said upright members including releasable securing means attached thereto for releasable interengagement to secure said second pair of opposite side walls to said first pair of opposite side walls to form said bin, said interlock means and said releasable securing means interconnecting said first pair of opposite side walls and said pallet base and said releasable securing means interconnecting said first pair of opposite side walls to said second pair of opposite side walls to resist outward thrust exerted by bin contents and being releasable to allow disassembly of said four side walls from one another and from said pallet base.
 2. The collapsible bulk handling bin of claim 1 wherein said upright members are channel section members, each channel section member on said first pair of opposite side walls including an eyelet extending from an end at the foot thereof and a depending peg from each channel section member on said second pair of opposite side walls, said four side walls in assembled position overlapping at their ends to an extent whereby said depending peg releasably interengages with said eyelet to secure said side walls to one another at the foot thereof and a pivotal slotted link and peg means near the top of said side walls attached to said channel section members for releasable interengagement to secure said side walls to the top thereof.
 3. A collapsible bulk handling bin comprising a rectangular pallet base having cross members including an intermediate cross member, and planks affixed to said cross members to said cross members to form a floor, said cross members projecting beyond the edge of said floor, four side walls comprising a first pair of opposite side walls and a second pair of opposite side walls mounted on the edges of said pallet floor, said first pair of opposite side walls adapted to rest on the projecting portion of said cross members and contact a floor edge, interlock means on each end of said intermediate cross member and on the lower outer edge portion of each of said first pair of opposite side walls when said first pair of opposite side walls are resting on said projecting portion of said cross members, said interlock means including a catch member having a substantially horizontally extending protuberance spaced a predetermined distance from said floor edge, and a latch member including at least one notched projection, said protuberance and said at least one notched projection being coincident with one another and adapted to releasably interconnect in a snap action to form said interlock Means when said first pair of opposite side walls are mounted on said cross members, each of said first pair of opposite side walls being in abutting relationship with said floor edge, said four side walls including planks secured together at the ends by upright members, said upright members including a depending peg for removal engagement in a corresponding socket in the floor of said pallet base to secure in said second pair of opposite side walls to said pallet base relative to said first pair of opposite side walls and a pivotal slotted link and peg means attached near the top of said side walls for releasable interengagement to secure said side walls to one another to form said bin, said interlock means and said peg and socket means interconnecting said respective side walls to said pallet base and said pivotal slotted link and peg means releasably interconnecting said side walls to resist outward thrust exerted by bin contents and being releasable to allow disassembly of said side walls from one another and from said base. 